Naira Appreciates To N1,505/$1 As CBN Retains Interest Rates

The naira has maintained its strong performance, appreciating to N1,505/$1 at the parallel market on Thursday, gaining N9 from the N1,514 exchange rate on Wednesday.

This is as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) retained all monetary parameters at its 299th Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the first in 2025.

Addressing the media after the meeting, the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso said the committee was unanimous in its decision to hold all parameters and thus decided as follows:  Retain the MPR at 27.50 per cent, retain the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis points, retain the Cash Reserve Ratio of Deposit Money Banks at 50.00 per cent and Merchant Banks at 16 per cent and retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent.

The committee noted with satisfaction recent macroeconomic developments, which are expected to positively impact price dynamics in the near to medium term.

Cardoso cited the stability in the foreign exchange market with the resultant appreciation of the exchange rate and the gradual moderation in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

He said members, however, were not oblivious of the risk of persisting inflationary pressures driven largely by food prices.

The committee highlighted the benefits of the improvements in the external sector to exchange rate stability, including the convergence of rates between the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) and the Bureau de Change (BDC), and urged the bank not to relent in its effort to boost market liquidity.